I grew up playing sports. It started with softball. I think I was around seven years old when I got on my first team out at North Riverdale Little League. From the minute I first put on my glove, a new world unfolded right before my eyes. It actually drove my life for the next 15 years. I thought of nothing but playing professional softball.
Of course, that never happened. The closest I got was getting a college scholarship for my softball skills. And I have to say, those were some of the best years of my life.
These days, girls and women have greater opportunities than ever before when it comes to sports. The professional leagues are expanding in most areas, from basketball to soccer to volleyball, and onward.
But it wasn’t always that way. For a long time, women were mostly kept out of sports.
Most baseball fans have heard the famous line, “There’s no crying in baseball.” Of course, that movie quote became part of American culture thanks to the movie A League of Their Own. But in truth, there was a remarkable women’s baseball league that proved the game belonged to more than just the men.
Back in 1943 sometime, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) opened its inaugural season. The first games featured the Rockford Peaches of Illinois. They lost that game to the South Bend Blue Sox of Indiana by a score of 1-0. And on another diamond somewhere else, the Kenosha Shamrocks defeated the Racine Belles 8-6.
The league was born during the height of World War II. It all happened because hundreds of Major League Baseball players were serving in the armed forces. Back here at home, many big whigs wondered whether professional baseball could survive the war years.
Chicago Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley believed it could. But he had a new idea. He created a women’s professional league to help keep America’s pastime alive until the men returned home.
So he began with a practical solution that was driven by keeping the money flowing. But that solution soon became something much more significant. That women’s baseball league opened doors for female athletes at a time when professional opportunities for women in sports were almost nonexistent.
Players were recruited from amateur softball leagues across the Midwest. Those selected were expected to follow an extensive code of conduct that governed not only their behavior on and off the field but also their appearance. They attended charm school, wore skirts instead of traditional baseball uniforms, and were even required to wear lipstick while playing. Just like in the movie.
The game itself also evolved. Early seasons featured underhand pitching and a larger softball-sized ball. Over time, the rules gradually shifted toward traditional baseball, with overhand pitching, smaller balls, and longer base paths. By the league’s final years, the style of play was as close to modern baseball as you can get. Those women were quite extraordinary, playing their hearts out every day, for the love of the game. Their pay didn’t match that of their male counterparts. But it didn’t matter. They were all about the sport.
After World War II ended, Major League Baseball returned to full strength. Yes, the men came home and took to the stadiums once again. And the women’s leagues? Well, attendance gradually declined, and the league folded after the 1954 season.
But its memory and its legacy rolled along. In 1988, the National Baseball Hall of Fame opened a permanent exhibit honoring the AAGPBL. This sparked renewed public interest. And that attention eventually inspired that beloved 1992 film that I’ve been talking about, A League of Their Own. The movie fictionalized many of the characters and events. But in truth, the extraordinary accomplishments of the women who played in the league required very little embellishment.
Wouldn’t you know? I met a couple of them during my life as a softball player. A wonderful reminder about how our lives intersect and expand as we live and breathe.
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“The glory of sport comes from dedication, determination, and desire.” — Jesse Owens
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“You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.” — Wayne Gretzky
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“Champions keep playing until they get it right.” — Billie Jean King
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“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” — John Wooden
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